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Palestinian Incitement to Violence and Terror: Nothing New, But Still Dangerous
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Alan Baker - The one central and overriding component of today's wave of violence and terror is the incitement of an aroused Arab public. Incitement and manipulation of a particular community - worshippers at mosques, the younger generation in kindergartens, schools, and colleges, and the general adult community through the electronic media - have become one of the major tactical weapons in the arsenal of Arab societies in general and the Palestinian leadership in particular. A culture of mistrust and hate, fanned by constant religious and public incitement, inevitably leads to violence and undermines the concept of peaceful relations. A leadership that openly and officially sanctions and encourages such incitement cannot come with clean hands to the international community and complain about lack of progress in the peace process. The writer, a former legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians.